Challenges in Cross-Platform and Cross-Browser Testing

There are several combinations like 

OS: windows, macOS, Android and iOS

Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Brave, Edge, etc.

Problem: You are likely to overlook bugs on less popular combinations.

Solution: Prioritize most popular platforms and browsers according to your target audience. Tools such as Google Analytics will help to identify the most used devices and browsers.

Websites that may display quite well when viewed on the desktop but may not be able to do the same on a mobile screen. Different screen sizes, resolutions, and even touch-based interactions create challenges.

Challenge: Ensuring that a website or an application adjusts well for both desktop and mobile screens.

Solution: Test wherever possible on real devices, or make use of emulators that very closely simulate real devices.

Different features and CSS styles are not equally supported across browsers. More so, older browsers may miss out on the features for new browsers.

Challenge: Elements such as animations or specific design will fail on older browsers, including Internet Explorer.

Solution: Use resources like Can I Use to see what's supported in a specific browser. Implement polyfills, or fallback code, in spots where feature support is missing.

One web page could easily load and run on one browser but seem to lag on another. That probably would be because different browsers execute their JavaScript differently or process data differently.

Problem: Performance issues can occur in the less-efficient browsers.

Solution: Use performance testing tools such as Lighthouse to highlight potential slowdowns.

Sometimes bugs will only seem to appear in specific browsers or versions. You may have written something that works perfectly in Chrome, yet crashes in Safari.

Challenge: Finding these browser-specific bugs can be a real pain.

Solution: Keep a browser bug log and test frequently on the different browsers. These can also be picked up by automated testing tools.

While you may be testing on different devices, a feature that works in one platform won't behave the same in another because of differences in hardware, OS restrictions, or capabilities of the device.

Problem: Acts differently or looks different on other platforms.

Solution: Test on many real devices or on various device emulators. Avoid relying solely on simulators since the same issues may not behave in the same way at runtime.

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